One of Eaglecrest Ski Area’s chairlifts is broken as the winter season approaches

One of Eaglecrest Ski Area’s four chairlifts will likely be out of commission this winter season due to safety concerns.

According to an announcement last week, the ski area’s management team says they discovered “significant mechanical damage” to the Black Bear lift while doing routine pre-season maintenance recently. 

Eaglecrest’s new general manager Craig Cimmons began his role just last week after moving to Juneau from Vermont. In an interview, he said he found out about the problems with the lift on his first day. 

“We are still working it out for sure, and trying to see what we can throw at it to solve the problem. But, eventually, it’s going to take a pretty big financial investment to fix it,” he said. 

The Black Bear chairlift is more than 50 years old. It services the east side of the mountain including the East Bowl Chutes and the Drifter, Marmot and Vertigo runs. The ski area’s three other lifts are Ptarmigan, Hooter and Porcupine.

According to Cimmons, the maintenance team discovered a broken bearing in the Black Bear lift that impacts its entire system. Despite previous inspections, the issue was only found recently after the maintenance team did a more detailed inspection.

Cimmons said they could try to make a hasty and short-term fix before the season kicks off on December 7th, but it could be risky financially and for skier’s safety without determining what caused the bearing to break in the first place.

“The fix we can do in time for opening is not a complete fix, and then we run into a situation where we have to make the decision, is that fix worth it?” he said. “We don’t want to do a band-aid solution that costs a lot of money and time, and that pulls our mechanics away from the other lifts, just to have to revisit it and throw more money at it.” 

He said for now, skiers should expect it to remain out of commission for the entirety of the season. But, things may change and Eaglecrest will continue to share updates with the public. He said right now, there is no plan to reduce ticket prices in light of the lift not being in operation. About 2,000 season passes have already been purchased. 

The setback comes after major changes in the ski area’s management earlier this year.

In August, the Eaglecrest Board of Directors selected a new general manager for the ski area after they asked the previous manager to resign in May. The board has not publicly shared why they asked for his resignation after seven years on the job.